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I’m not sure what
has made the difference, but over the last two months, I have
noticed a significant change, for the better, from Zacaria at the
road blocks. There seem to be a few less of them but more
importantly, they seem to be a lot more polite. This is a good
thing, but they should not rest on their laurels; there is much room
for improvement.
First is to
remember that we are no longer in the 2nd Republic and
that one does not have to answer their question of ‘how far?’
Provided ones vehicle is in a roadworthy condition and provided one
does not try to drive into any security areas, one is entitled to
travel where one wishes on public roads.
Second is that
when Zacaria is not in uniform (as happens from time to time at the
Kafue Bridge roadblock), he is, by law, obliged to show one his
identification, confirming that he is in fact Zacaria.
There are also
still many incidences of Zacaria stopping vehicles as if at a road
block and then asking for a lift. In such cases, one should ask for
Zac’s name and number and report it to his commanding officer. Of
course, it is most likely that he will refuse to give you the
information requested. In such cases, this should be reported to the
nearest police station.
A friend of mine
recently spent two weeks traveling around Zambia. He had this to say
after he had left:
‘Unfortunately we
didn't find everything we were looking for in the Copperbelt. My
friend Paul got to Mufulira on Friday, but found that the house
where he was born had been knocked down. He went back on Saturday
morning and found out why, but got a
LOT of
hassle from the Police on the way there and back. We had intended to
drive to Chingola in the afternoon, but decided against it. Mainly
because of the annoyance of the Police at weekends. Just keep
pushing in your publications for a bit less corruption in the
Zambian Police force, as maybe a few more of our tourist dollars
would have found their way into the Zambian economy if they had not
been so over zealous!!’ |
September 2004